"It's time to go back." Henry loudly announced, gathering everyone's attention. It's been a few hours since they reunited with Anna and Kristoff and the gang had done nothing but play around with the trolls.
Except for Henry. He took this opportunity to learn as much as he could from Grand Pabbie, who seemed to be an expert in Earth and Healing magic, along with various other magics related to the body and mind.
During the time spent, Henry absorbed everything that Grand Pabbie taught him to the point that the old troll was surprised and left doubting Henry's credibility.
So Henry demonstrated it by casting the same basic Earth magic spell he had just taught him an hour ago.
A stomp on the ground and a block of stone rose from the ground, the height almost reaching his waist.
This made Grand Pabbie eager to teach Henry as a student. Although there are no rules stating that having two magic masters is a bad thing, as long as there's something to gain—Henry wouldn't mind taking as many masters as possible.
Sometimes, to benefit the most out of a situation, you gotta break the rules. That'll be his motto for this week.
Besides, Grand Pabbie and Master Elias are close friends. Surely both masters wouldn't mind taking the same student under their tutelage—especially someone of Henry's talents.
Overall, Henry managed to learn so much in a single day.
Noticing the look that the reindeer is giving him, Henry sighed, "Come on, Sven. It's not like we'll be gone forever. We'll come back tomorrow or the day after tomorrow." The reindeer still feigned sadness seeming reluctant to part ways with the trolls. Though Henry can see the hidden relief in Sven's eyes.
As for the others, they were already preparing their things and bidding their goodbyes to the trolls. Henry on the other hand, turned back to Grand Pabbie.
With a sophisticated bow, Henry thanked the old troll, "You have my gratitude for your teachings, Master Pabbie. I've learned a lot."
He's not exaggerating or anything like that. Grand Pabbie not only helped him start his study of the element of Earth magic, but the old troll also taught him the art of healing—although he hasn't learned any spell relating to it, he learned the concept of mixing two elements to form a variant.
Think of it like this. Combining the two elements would result in several branches of magic such as Wood Magic, Plant Magic, Mud Magic—yes, he's surprised that such magic exists, and then there's the Healing Magic.
Each of the aforementioned magic spells can be achieved by taking a few key components of the said elements and combining them to form their respective variant.
For example, to learn Wood Magic, you must combine the components of Hardening and Nature from the Earth element with Growth and Transformation from the Water Element.
In the case of Healing Magic, it's a meticulous fusion of Earth and Water magic—embodying the Purification and Cleansing components of the Water Element while Life, Fertility, and Nature of the Earth Element.
Like what he just mentioned above, Henry hasn't learned any of the branches yet—just their concept for now.
In his next visit here, Henry would attempt to learn a Healing Magic spell from Grand Pabbie, surely with his talent, it wouldn't be that hard.
"You are very much welcome, Henry. Knowledge must always be free to those who seek them and not use it to cause unnecessary harm to others." Grand Pabbie nodded his head and replied with short advice.
While Kristoff, Sven, and Anna separated from them and walked back to their wagon, Henry and Elsa rode on their horses.
On the way out of the Valley of the Living Rock, they encountered Kristoff who was busy strapping the reins of Sven to the wagon while Anna sat atop it.
"Let's go together. Much safer that way." Henry recommended, which was greatly appreciated by Kristoff. This might be a world of Disney where everything is rainbows and sunshine but the real world itself is far from that.
In the books that Henry read from Master Elias's tower, the existence of monsters and beasts is pretty much real, albeit rare but prevalent in certain parts of the continent.
Once Kristoff was done, he climbed on Sven's back and they resumed their travel back to the Kingdom.
Amidst the journey, they chat with one another, their topics ranging from how Elsa learned to control her powers to the background of Henry—to which the trio of Anna, Kristoff, and Sven were surprised.
"You're a Prince?!" Out of the three, Kristoff was the most shocked. 'Does that mean I helped save a Kingdom's crown prince?' Before he knew it, his breathing turned haggard and if this were the world of cartoons, his eyes would've turned into the coin currency.
Henry rolled his eyes after seeing Kristoff's reaction, "Please don't tell me my status would change the friendship between us."
His words snapped Kristoff back to the real world before shaking his head with a confident chuckle, "Oh come on, do you really think I'm that kind of guy?" This sentence caused silence around them—not just Henry, but Elsa, Anna, and even Sven stared at him with deadpan expressions.
This made Kristoff shamelessly shift his eyes to anywhere but theirs.
Thankfully, the stares didn't last long and the atmosphere of normalcy went back, much to Kristoff's relief.
"Alright, let's go back to the topic. Do you need help getting back to your place? I'm sure I can ask Kai to assign you a ship with a crew to take you back safely." Anna broke the silence with an offer to Henry.
If this had been offered to him a few days ago, Henry would've agreed without hesitation but now, things were a bit different. He just started learning Magic under Grand Pabbie and he can't just let this opportunity pass.
Sure, he has Master Elias back in Lioncrest Kingdom but there's something new in learning under a different teacher. In Henry's perspective, Master Elias teaches him the basics of magic to form his foundation towards it, while Grand Pabbie on the other hand, guides him into the deep trenches of magic.
And besides, Grand Pabbie specializes in Healing Magic—a necessary magic to learn for the sake of his own safety and the others.
Sure, there's a chance that Master Elias also knows how to wield healing magic but there's no doubt that Grand Pabbie—someone who is as old as the Earth itself, possesses more knowledge and experience in healing magic compared to the former.
Henry shook his head and replied, "No need. My master probably knows about my situation and already told my parents about it."
"But what about your siblings? Like what you said earlier, they're after your position and even had someone kill you for it. Wouldn't they try to…I don't know, steal it from you, now that you're gone?" Anna pointed out, to which Kristoff jokingly chimed in.
"You know, I thought having siblings would be fun and make you less lonely but after hearing your case, I'm starting to think twice about it."
Only for Anna to ruthlessly shut him down, "You're not even a prince. I'm sure your siblings would want nothing from you." Making Kristoff wince in emotional pain.
Meanwhile, Henry replied to Anna's question earlier, "I'm sure father already had their punishment in mind. Probably to use their attempt on my life as an excuse to officially kick them out of the competition. Of course, that's only possible if there's evidence."
"Do you?" This time, it was Elsa who spoke.
Henry stared back at her and replied, "I am the evidence. Knowing my brothers, especially Timothy, he'll definitely spread the news of my death even without my father's consent." Henry chuckled at the pathetic attempt of it, "Never once did he think with his so-called intelligence that his plan would backfire greatly once I reveal myself to be alive and well."
"How so?"
"The louder the news of my death is, the more convincing it will become when I go back there and testify about their assassination attempt." Henry confidently smiled.
"Didn't think you'd thought of it this far." Elsa complimented him.
Henry gave her a short bow, "Why thank you."
———
The rest of their journey was spent between silence and brief chats. Eventually, before the sun goes down, the tip of the rear wall of Arendelle is now within their sights.
"I guess this is where we part ways now. You know, it was nice and a shock meeting the two princesses." Kristoff sighed in both relief and reluctance. He didn't think that this day would open his eyes to the truth behind the closed doors of the royal family's castle.
"Not yet…" Henry uttered much to the confusion of the rest.
"Henry, what do you me—" Before Kristoff could ask, they heard the shuffling of the bushes on their two sides. Soon, the perpetrators revealed themselves in the form of a pack of wolves, eyeing them hungrily.
'What a great timing. Perfect opportunity for Elsa.' Henry murmured under his breath and he turned to the soon-to-be Queen of Arendelle.
"Elsa. What do you think?" Without even going into details, Elsa already understood the meaning behind his words.
She nodded her head and slid down from her horse, "I'll try."
This made Anna widen her eyes and shout for her in concern, "Elsa! What are you doing?"
"Don't worry. Let her handle this." Before Anna could jump out of the wagon and drag her sister back, Henry interrupted her.
Still, Anna was reluctant, "But what if she got hurt?"
He simply stared at her eyes, "Trust your sister. Okay?" Her eyes went back to Elsa's back and then to Henry before gulping her saliva and nodding her head.
On the other hand, Kristoff already grabbed his knife that is hidden on his ankles, gripping its handle tightly. But still, his face looks less tense and even a bit relaxed. Knowing Henry's capabilities, he's confident that no harm will befall them.
Meanwhile, Elsa was slightly nervous. This is her first time fighting somebody aside from Henry.
'Just incapacitate them, Elsa. No need to make them bleed. They're just hungry after all.' She muttered to herself as one of the wolves suddenly launched at her.
Even with Henry's assurance, Anna was still nervous for her sister and she shouted, "He's coming at you!"
Elsa's breath hitched and she flinched at the sight of the claws and sharp teeth. She unconsciously stretched her hand forward and a torrent of icy blast froze everything in its path in a matter of seconds.
When she opened her eyes again, her mouth gaped at the sight in front of her. Her intention was simply to freeze the lone wolf that launched at her, however she accidentally froze everything in a fan shape, including half of the pack that was on its way.
And now, the rest are backing out—their eyes were just as wide as Elsa's gaping mouth. They might be animals and less intelligent than humans but they have their instincts. And their instincts are making them shiver in fear and screaming at their brains to run and never look back.
Despite the accident and flinching, this scene gave Elsa a renewed sense of confidence. She stepped forward and was about to unleash another icy blast when the remaining pack of wolves turned with their tails tucked before bolting away.
"Look at them go. Typical predators. Only preying on what they think is weak. But once the tables have turned, they turn into a bunch of cowards." Kristoff sighed in relief at the scene before making a comment out of it while tucking his knife back on the strap.
Elsa walked back to the ground in a confident stride, climbing back on Snow's saddle as she replied, "That was easier than I expected."
"Don't get cozy now, Elsa. Sure, in front of your power, a pack of wolves might not pose a threat but think of other people like us." Henry warned her, hoping his advice wouldn't let her power go right over her head and start underestimating the rest of her opponents.
He might've prevented a tragedy but he also doesn't want to be the cause of a new one.
Thankfully, Elsa understood his words and nodded her head with a bit of shame on her face.
Henry followed with a compliment to not discourage the woman, "You still did good though. Maybe less flinching and closing of eyes in the future, okay?"
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[Fortunately or Unfortunately, the hate comments stopped and peace has returned. No more rants coming from your dear author, I guess. Lol.]